Can Coffee Make You Feel Drunk or Is It Just a Missed Shot?

No, coffee does not make you drunk. A recent case that sparked the question involved a different problem: a customer took a sip of a latte and found the barista had forgotten the espresso. The barista then offered to pour a shot into the cup that had already left the counter, which raised hygiene concerns. In the end, a fresh latte was made from scratch.

Online commenters debated whether a drink can be reworked after it leaves the bar, with some saying adding an ingredient avoids waste and others citing food safety risk. Chain brands generally require a remake in this situation. The incident reflects the tension between operating standards and waste control, especially in winter when drowsy baristas make more mistakes.

In the depths of winter, baristas inevitably make mistakes while drowsy, and cases of forgotten syrup or espresso happen from time to time. Recently, one customer ran into just such an awkward situation: after picking up the coffee and taking a sip, they realized the staff had left out the espresso, so they took it back to the counter and asked for it to be remade. After admitting the mistake, the staff member planned to simply pour the espresso into the cup that had already left the counter, a move that made the customer worry about hygiene. In the end, the staff member made a correct latte from scratch. The incident sparked lively discussion online, with netizens sharing similar experiences and debating whether a drink can still be reworked after it has left the counter. Some felt that adding something from a distance was no big deal and could avoid waste; others believed that reworking a drink after it has left the counter poses food safety risks. Chain brands usually require that the drink be remade, and this debate reflects the real-world tension between operating standards and waste control.

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As winter arrives, the difficulty of getting out of bed gets worse too. Baristas fight back drowsiness, shuffle groggily to the bar, and extract coffee while yawning. In this state, operational mistakes are most likely, such as forgetting to add syrup to a flavored latte or forgetting to pour the espresso into a latte.

If the drink has not yet been handed out from the bar, most baristas will quickly fix it by adding the missing ingredient before giving it to the customer. But what if the customer has already taken a sip and only then discovers something is missing?

Recently, a customer shared an awkward scene they experienced: after receiving the coffee from the staff member, they opened the lid, took a sip, and found that the staff member had forgotten to add the espresso, so they immediately returned to the bar and asked for it to be remade. After the staff member confirmed it was their own oversight, they prepared to take the drink that had already left the bar and add the espresso to it.

This action made the customer uneasy, and they told the staff member that doing so was unhygienic. In the end, the staff member made a correct latte for them from scratch.

In the comments section, netizens with similar experiences recounted their own stories, as well as the different ways staff members handled them. "My lemonade had no sugar. I sat there drinking it for a long time and really couldn't get it down. She took it back, took a sip, and said she'd remake it for me." "Just pour it out and remake it." "Yesterday I ordered a cup that had no sugar added, but the staff member was very nice. As soon as I mentioned it, she decisively refunded my money." "They took it back and added the boba after it had been missing, and even said there wasn't enough room and told me to drink a couple more sips."

Some netizens believed that, like the staff member in this case, directly pouring in a shot of espresso to fix it was acceptable, since it would not cause waste and could reduce losses. "The thing pouring the coffee liquid is poured from a distance and won't touch the cup, so why is it unhygienic?" "They should just use a milk pitcher to catch a shot and add it for you. Remaking it is unnecessary and only increases waste." "When I took it over, she said she'd make me a new cup, and I said just add coffee to mine."

Netizens who like extra ice said that when drinking coffee in a café, if they feel there is not enough ice, they will also ask the staff to add ice directly to the cup, "I often drink half of it and take it back to ask for more ice." They did not think there was any problem with adding ice or other ingredients to a drink they had already drunk from.

But some netizens believed that once a drink has left the bar for a while and then comes back, whether the customer asks for ice or syrup to be added, or the staff needs to add a missing topping, this behavior counts as re-processing food and may bring food safety risks.

Therefore, in order to avoid food safety issues, most chain coffee brands require staff not to re-process drinks. If a drink is missing an ingredient due to an operational mistake, a new cup must be made for the customer.

Although making coffee does not require sterile handling like dispensing medicine in a hospital, it is still a drink that goes into your mouth. Netizens hope even more that staff members will follow the standards and not ignore food safety just to save materials and reduce losses.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.